94dodgedakota

My passenger side front carpet was wet and so was the rear. I decided to replace the windshield b/c when we sprayed water over it I saw it leaking above the heater return on the passenger floor. However, when we had the windshield out to make sure that was the issue, we saw some leakage. I will know more after it rains or warms up to wash it, but suggestions would be greatly appreciated. In addition, I took out the seats and pulled out all the carpet except the rear cargo area to make sure it does not cause mold/rust. This truck is perfect for restoration (extremely solid Texas vehicle) and I plan on keeping it for awhile. What I would like to know is what if anything should I coat the flooring with to prevent damage in the future. Thanks in advance and I appreciate your help in advance.

Mike

cruisinforburgers

could be leaking from under the front cowl hard area to get to as it's up under the dash. they are notorious for rusting in the seams of the tunnel under there and leaking down on the floor.

94dodgedakota

Are you speaking of under the cowl where the fresh air intake is located? Can it be repaired by a good body shop? This is a Texas truck all it's life, do you think it could have rusted or possible dry rotted? Thanks much for your help. I want to keep this because it makes such a great third vehicle with a new puppy.

tc

Sure its not the heater core?

EWAYota

my thoughts exactly.

cruisinforburgers

LOL! too funny, I thought heater core right after I posted a reply. Being a texas truck it probalby isn't rusted in the Cowl tunnel at all, but ya never know. yeaup right next to where the fresh air intake is. up in the very top corner, above where the Antena cable and the engine wiring harness come in. Hard spot to get too if it is, without ripping the entire dash out and the cowl cover and the front fender just to get to a tiny hole. LOL! I just repaird mine there, but it's a Michigan Toyota and most mid 80's Michigan yota's are rusted away and gone already. thank god it only spent half it's life on Michigan Salted roads in the winter time!

but yeah, definatly check the heater core, does the wet floor smell like radiator fluid.
LOL! take all the carpet out and just Rhino line everything! lol! Joking, would be shame to do that to a minty Yota!~~~
good luck.

94dodgedakota

Thought of that, however the coolant level is full and has been. Could this still be the case? In addition, wouldn't it fog up really bad if the heater core was busted? Once again thanks.

94dodgedakota

Just to clarify it drips in through the passenger side right above the hose going through the floor board (heater return)? You mentioned antenna and recalled that the power works, but the mast is broken...went out and poured water in and it didn't leak (most likely dumb, but wanted to cover bases)!

cruisinforburgers

try spraying some water down in the cowl vents under the wipers. if it's leaking in there somewhere that would show it. the antena comment was for where the cable comes in the car in the passenger area above the Engine computer. the mast is mounted on the fender and it wouldn't make a difference. I take it the window reinstalation didn't fix the problem.

seaflea

What year is it? My 87 leaked there too. urned out that it was rusted inside the windshield area. 1st. gens are prone to leaking in that area.

94dodgedakota

It is an '88. I kept the truck in the shop for 2 days for the sealant to harden. The window guy said that everything looked good (he thought it would be dry rotted b/c of the Texas life). I haven't sprayed the windshield yet b/c of below 20 degree temps. I will try and do it tomorrow. My engine computer is on the passenger side kickpanel. Thanks again

rngrchad

I have a 97 Tacoma. Same leak. It's terrible. I finally gave up, and ripped the every inch of carpet out of my truck to get rid of the mildew smell that it created. I now have no carpet, and the leak is hardly noticeable at all with my carpet removed.
Anyhow, here is a similiar thread that may help. I've been dealing w/ this issue for way tooooo long.
Good luck, make sure you post if you find out what the solution is.

rngrchad

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/show...king+passenger

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/show...king+passenger
forgot to post these. Sorry. Read through them, lots of good ideas, tips, etc etc.

Flamedx4

My 85 leaked on the pass side too. The water was coming in up high under the dash and it was impossible to see where it came from. I too thought it was the windshield. It wasn't. I finally took off the cowl cover (the piece between the hood and the windshield with the air intake vents in it - just unbolts easily) and FInally saw the problem. All it was was a rubber gromment where a harness goes through the plenum area had popped out. I gobbed silicone all over it and popped it back in. Never had another leak. Others on this board have had the same thing happen.

Dr.Feelgood

Does it only leak when it's raining? That would rule out the heater core. Does it leak when it's not raining? That would indicate heater core/hose.

94dodgedakota

It leaks only when it rains...I will make sure I look at the suggestion from FLAMEDX4. Although, when we had the windshield out we took the cowl cover off and did not see anything except the cold air intake on that side. However, you are correct that it is very high up on the dash.

cruisinforburgers

I still think it's in the tunnel under the cowel. although I don't remember any wiring harness comming out of there. There is a wiring harness comming out the side with a grommet, if you take the inner fender plastic out you can see that. and it could be loose like FLAMEDX4 said. My cowl cover is off right now and just don't recall a harness any where on top, only little plastic screens that keep the leaves and crud out of the cowl tunnel. I still say spray water or pour some down the cowl vents. if it's leaking anywhere in there it would definalty show then. mine had about a 1 inch hole in the passenger side way up under the dash behind the blower fan. and also had a half inch hole in the upper part of the window pillar, my problem hole was definatly the one in the tunnel though.

Flamedx4

Cruisin has the right idea with looking at all harness grommets. There are a bunch of grommets through the firewall. Mine leaked when parked too, so that ruled out any under the hood. (I had zero rust so that was never an issue) I could pour water on the winshield on that side and get the leak. When I took the cowl (plenum) cover off, it was still not obvious where the problem was. Had to look really closely and could see the water follow that harness into the dash. Then I realised I was looking at a grommet that had popped out - the grommet was inside the dash now, not inside the plenum. It was a "sailor-cussin" job just to pop it in, my hands aren't big but I still couldn't quite reach up in there.

Robinhood150

Have you been using your air conditioning? The drain hose could be clogged and the condensation is spilling over.

Hadmatt54

If your leak shows up on the carpet along the kick panel then most likely like others have already said your problem is up under the cowl. You can try to fix it with silicone in under the cowl, but that is a band-aid job, it could stop the water for a bit, but if you don't do a good job on the silicone then you could end up trapping more water under the cowl and causing more water problems, such as divirting the leak on top of your ECU. If you are serious about restoring this truck and repairing the damaged area that is leaking then there is really only one way to go. Take the fender off of the side that's leaking and look just inside of the opening where the water drains from the cowl, if there is a hole rusted through it will probably be there. If you can't see a hole then put a trouble light up under the dash and see if you can see light in the cowl. The problem is design and the fact that this is a Texas truck really doesn't matter. In this area you have a junction of 3 layers of metal that are spot welded together and they are sealed with seam sealer which is a rubberized chaulking that auto makers use. The way that these layers of metal are joined creates a low spot and not all of the water drains out from the cowl after a rain. Eventually that trapped water will rust a hole through into your cab up under the dash over your ECU on the passengers side and over your fuse panel on the drivers side. I had to repair this on my 89 4Runner and my 86 pickup. If you want to keep this truck for a long time there is really only one way to fix it. Remove the fender, you will see a re-inforcing layer of metal, get a spot weld cutter and drill out the spot welds, remove this piece. Cut the next layer of metal open so that you can get in there to work, but cut so that you can fold out of the way but weld it back together after you have fixed the leak. Cut out the rust area and weld in new body metal. When I fixed my 86, I actually tapered the metal that I put in so that there was a trough so that all of the water would run out. Once you have welded it back up, weld on the re-inforcing layer, grind everything smooth and paint it up. I also sprayed the inside of my cowl with undercoating/rock guard to give it a little more protection. If you do it your self it's going to take a fair amount of time and effort, if you pay a body shop to fix this it's going to cost you a fair amount of money. Bottom line:- is the truck worth you putting this much effort into.
Hadmatt54